Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 1995
It is often joked about archaeologists that anything that they cannot explain must be religious. ... more It is often joked about archaeologists that anything that they cannot explain must be religious. This is apparently most true among Minoan archaeologists, who seem to see religion in almost every artefact and building they find. But all joking aside, there is a very real ...
In the course of his work at Knossos Sir Arthur Evans set aside a number of tablets, which remain... more In the course of his work at Knossos Sir Arthur Evans set aside a number of tablets, which remained there after the main collection had been removed to the Museum in Iraklion for safe keeping. Some of the fragments retained by Evans were rediscovered in the Villa Ariadne soon after the Second World War by Dr. N. Boufidis of the National Museum in Athens; drawings of them were sent by him to Sir John Myres, who published the texts for the first time in Scripta Minoa ii, where they are distinguished by the prefix ‘M’.Other fragments of tablets which had remained at Knossos were discovered there by Dr. N. Platon in 1956, when he was working in the Stratigraphic Museum. One, published here as X 8101, has already been correctly transcribed in Scripta Minoa II and in The Knossos Tablets, in which publications it is numbered 04–94. A second fragment (S 8100), published here for the first time, belongs to the category of armour. The boxes in which the two tablets were found had ‘Little Pala...
The Minoan mountain peak sanctuary of Atsipadhes Korakias (Rethymnon, Crete) was excavated by the... more The Minoan mountain peak sanctuary of Atsipadhes Korakias (Rethymnon, Crete) was excavated by the author in 1989. This article presents the first published account of that excavation and addresses its contribution to broader issues, methodological and interpretative, of Cretan Bronze Age religion. The spatial distribution of over 7500 finds was recorded, enabling the detailed reconstruction of the use and function of the sanctuary. This reconstruction is compared with other approaches to the identification of prehistoric cult places in Greece. Of the other excavated peak sanctuaries, the best known are élite sanctuaries associated with palatial centres; Atsipadhes Korakias is a poor, rural sanctuary, and offers a counterbalanced perspective on Minoan peak sanctuaries.
The largest corpus of clay figurines from the Cretan Bronze Age comes from ritual mountain sites ... more The largest corpus of clay figurines from the Cretan Bronze Age comes from ritual mountain sites known as peak sanctuaries. In this paper, we explore how the ‛Figures in 3D’ project contributes to our understanding of these figurines, aiding in the study of the technologies of figurine construction and the typological analysis of distinctive styles. We discuss how the project has, more unexpectedly, begun to create new dialogues and opportunities for moving between the material and the digital by taking a multifaceted approach that combines the data from 3D models and 3D prints with experimental work in clay.
Abstract In many regions of Europe, bronze metalwork survives in excellent states of preservation... more Abstract In many regions of Europe, bronze metalwork survives in excellent states of preservation that enable us to examine traces of use on objects that are indicative of the ways in which they were used. This is a relatively young field of archaeometric research and the methodologies employed are as yet to be consolidated. A systematic relationship typically exists between experimental archaeology and the analyses of ancient objects to understand the character and causation of traces of use on objects. Mediation between these approaches has typically been undertaken using physical casts of damage on ancient objects or primary documentation and illustration by hand. We propose in this paper that advances in digital 3D modelling provide a new and dynamic interlocutor between artefact analyses and experimental archaeology. To this end, we evaluate the pros and cons of two of the affordable and commonly used modes of 3D data capture – laser scanning and structure from motion/photogrammetry – for studying the wear on bladed metal objects. We conclude that 3D modelling has considerable potential for enhancing metalwork wear analysis and object biography research. This is due to the dynamics of storing and displaying wear data for particular objects and by linking the study of traces of use on ancient objects more generally with those developed through experimental research.
Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 1995
It is often joked about archaeologists that anything that they cannot explain must be religious. ... more It is often joked about archaeologists that anything that they cannot explain must be religious. This is apparently most true among Minoan archaeologists, who seem to see religion in almost every artefact and building they find. But all joking aside, there is a very real ...
In the course of his work at Knossos Sir Arthur Evans set aside a number of tablets, which remain... more In the course of his work at Knossos Sir Arthur Evans set aside a number of tablets, which remained there after the main collection had been removed to the Museum in Iraklion for safe keeping. Some of the fragments retained by Evans were rediscovered in the Villa Ariadne soon after the Second World War by Dr. N. Boufidis of the National Museum in Athens; drawings of them were sent by him to Sir John Myres, who published the texts for the first time in Scripta Minoa ii, where they are distinguished by the prefix ‘M’.Other fragments of tablets which had remained at Knossos were discovered there by Dr. N. Platon in 1956, when he was working in the Stratigraphic Museum. One, published here as X 8101, has already been correctly transcribed in Scripta Minoa II and in The Knossos Tablets, in which publications it is numbered 04–94. A second fragment (S 8100), published here for the first time, belongs to the category of armour. The boxes in which the two tablets were found had ‘Little Pala...
The Minoan mountain peak sanctuary of Atsipadhes Korakias (Rethymnon, Crete) was excavated by the... more The Minoan mountain peak sanctuary of Atsipadhes Korakias (Rethymnon, Crete) was excavated by the author in 1989. This article presents the first published account of that excavation and addresses its contribution to broader issues, methodological and interpretative, of Cretan Bronze Age religion. The spatial distribution of over 7500 finds was recorded, enabling the detailed reconstruction of the use and function of the sanctuary. This reconstruction is compared with other approaches to the identification of prehistoric cult places in Greece. Of the other excavated peak sanctuaries, the best known are élite sanctuaries associated with palatial centres; Atsipadhes Korakias is a poor, rural sanctuary, and offers a counterbalanced perspective on Minoan peak sanctuaries.
The largest corpus of clay figurines from the Cretan Bronze Age comes from ritual mountain sites ... more The largest corpus of clay figurines from the Cretan Bronze Age comes from ritual mountain sites known as peak sanctuaries. In this paper, we explore how the ‛Figures in 3D’ project contributes to our understanding of these figurines, aiding in the study of the technologies of figurine construction and the typological analysis of distinctive styles. We discuss how the project has, more unexpectedly, begun to create new dialogues and opportunities for moving between the material and the digital by taking a multifaceted approach that combines the data from 3D models and 3D prints with experimental work in clay.
Abstract In many regions of Europe, bronze metalwork survives in excellent states of preservation... more Abstract In many regions of Europe, bronze metalwork survives in excellent states of preservation that enable us to examine traces of use on objects that are indicative of the ways in which they were used. This is a relatively young field of archaeometric research and the methodologies employed are as yet to be consolidated. A systematic relationship typically exists between experimental archaeology and the analyses of ancient objects to understand the character and causation of traces of use on objects. Mediation between these approaches has typically been undertaken using physical casts of damage on ancient objects or primary documentation and illustration by hand. We propose in this paper that advances in digital 3D modelling provide a new and dynamic interlocutor between artefact analyses and experimental archaeology. To this end, we evaluate the pros and cons of two of the affordable and commonly used modes of 3D data capture – laser scanning and structure from motion/photogrammetry – for studying the wear on bladed metal objects. We conclude that 3D modelling has considerable potential for enhancing metalwork wear analysis and object biography research. This is due to the dynamics of storing and displaying wear data for particular objects and by linking the study of traces of use on ancient objects more generally with those developed through experimental research.
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